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You are here: Home / John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House" / Tuesday Night Open Thread

Tuesday Night Open Thread

by John Cole|  June 24, 20259:27 pm| 110 Comments

This post is in: John Cole Presents "This Fucking Old House"

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At some point in the last couple of years, everything seems to have been sped up. I simply do not know where the time goes and I often wonder how the hell I did this while hammered. I woke up this morning at the cat’s meow, fed them, chugged some water and checked email and work stuff, hosed myself off in the shower, applied a heavy layer of sunscreen, and mowed until about 1:30. Went to the gym, did a quick grocery, tidied up a little, cooked dinner, did my bird watch, had dinner, and it’s just over. I didn’t take a nap, I didn’t watch tv, I was in constant motion. And the day just vaporized.

All of which is a long way of saying I have no idea what is going on in the world other than Trump and his dipshits managed to piss away 10 billion to blast some holes in the ground and accomplished nothing. And the God’s honest truth that that is probably the best fucking possible outcome with these malignant chucklefucks. I would put nothing past these idiots and it is anyone’s guess whether it is the incompetence or the malevolence that is the bigger threat.

At any rate, I have little to no idea what is going on. The NYC mayoral primary is today and I have no idea how blue NYC is going to fuck this up Florida style, but you know it’s gonna be fucking epic. I would not put it past them to fuck around after Cuomo eventually wins the primary and cross ticket for the general and end up with eric adams or fucking Curtis Sliwa. You know what you are gonna get with Adams, and if you don’t know anything about Sliwa, go watch some old 70’s early 80’s “the blacks in the cities are gonna kills us all” movies. Anything with Charles Bronson, Lee Marvin, or Clint Eastwood will do.

So I totally expect them to fuck this up some way some how because why not? The writers have clearly been given a free hand with the plot line this last decade, so why stop now? Regardless, we can collectively hope this somehow ends well, which is what I am going to do while bracing myself for the inevitable.

***

I finished the Agency: Central Intelligence, and loved it. The sound and music was amazing and feally ratcheted up the tension. Currently watch the Day of the Jackal on Peacok, which has a lovely theme song:

What a haunting yet enchanting voice. Honestly sounds like a James Bond theme song.

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  • Another Scott
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    110Comments

    1. 1.

      Trivia Man

      June 24, 2025 at 9:32 pm

      I had a different bird app that was much more cumbersome. The JC bird list  convinced me to get Merlin and i love it. Especially watching the bird name light up when it tweets again.

      Reply
    2. 2.

      Baud

      June 24, 2025 at 9:34 pm

      According to Blue sky, Mamdani is overperforming expectations in the first round of counting.

      Reply
    3. 3.

      Trivia Man

      June 24, 2025 at 9:36 pm

      Results:

      https://www.benjrosenblatt.com/live-results-for-2025-ny-primary-election

      Reply
    4. 4.

      jackmac

      June 24, 2025 at 9:40 pm

      Curtis Sliwa?  The Guardian Angels guy from the 1970s and 1980s? He’s still around?

      Admittedly I’m a Midwest guy and Sliwa hasn’t been on my radar since, well, never.

      Reply
    5. 5.

      Chacal Charles Calthrop

      June 24, 2025 at 9:41 pm

      I’m in NYC at a local campaign watch party while the results of the Democratic primary come in. Yes this is just a primary race for mayor in one city but the city is NYC, all the usual suspects (Clinton etc) endorsed the very well known Andrew Cuomo, and the Muslim dark horse is winning.

      and Trivia Man already beat me to it…

      Reply
    6. 6.

      Layer8Problem

      June 24, 2025 at 9:42 pm

      The Agency‘s the remake of the French Le Bureau des Légendes, which was a damned good series. Check it out and compare and contrast.

      Reply
    7. 7.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 9:43 pm

      If Lander’s supporters break for Mamdani, (and he told them to rank Mamdani high and vice versa, as part of an alliance) and baring any massive swing from the remaining outstanding vote, it’s looking like he’s got this

      That being said, this may not go as well as we’d all like. It’s not like the NYPD and the FDNY can’t and won’t bring massive pressure to the political apparatus of the city, let alone all the other players, no matter who gets elected Mayor. Even smart progressive policy can get chewed up and spit out by the machine that is city politics.

      Reply
    8. 8.

      Steve LaBonne

      June 24, 2025 at 9:46 pm

      @Eolirin: God I hope he turns out to be more competent than de Blasio, or FSM help us Brandon Johnson.

      Reply
    9. 9.

      Captain C

      June 24, 2025 at 9:47 pm

      I suspect the punditry underestimated how many New Yorkers completely can’t stand Andrew Cuomo after how much he fucked with NYC during his governorship.

      Reply
    10. 10.

      lowtechcyclist

      June 24, 2025 at 9:49 pm

      @Eolirin: ​
       

      I assume Cuomo will run as an independent in the general, since NY apparently has no ‘sore loser’ law.

      Reply
    11. 11.

      Scout211

      June 24, 2025 at 9:50 pm

      Rolling Stone (web archive version) has a nice wrap-up of the international news you missed, Cole.

      TRUMP IS DESPERATELY TRYING TO BOMB AND SHITPOST HIS WAY TO PEACE

      As he embarked on his attacks on Iran, President Donald Trump was clear that his initial bombing run would be followed by unbelievable destruction, if the government in Tehran angered him too much. But then after giving war a chance, he was clear that he wanted “peace” for all nations involved. Then, he toyed with the idea of a “regime change” war. And then he announced a supposed cease-fire.

      But then he got very mad on the internet that nobody was following his huffy cease-fire demands. Then, he got really mad online, again. And then… who the hell knows? Even senior members of his own administration sometimes don’t seem to know what to make of this Trumpian blitz of war and supposed peace.

      One thing is for sure: Trump wants you to believe that he can shitpost, bully, and even bomb his way to lasting, durable peace.

      Reply
    12. 12.

      Steve LaBonne

      June 24, 2025 at 9:51 pm

      @lowtechcyclist: So he can split the asshole vote with Adams.

      Reply
    13. 13.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 9:52 pm

      @Eolirin: I’m not a NYer, much less live in NYC, so it’s interesting to see who NYC selects as their Democratic nominee. I don’t want woman molester Cuomo, but I don’t know a lot about Mamdani, other than what I’ve read about him here. Should Mamdani win, who’s the Republican candidate? Or is that TBD by a republican primary?

      Reply
    14. 14.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 9:52 pm

      @Steve LaBonne: I’m less worried about his competency and more worried about him picking fights that get him killed tbh.

      I think part of why De Blaiso spiraled out so fast was because he got into a fight with the NYPD over some barely critical comments he made. It felt like he completely stopped trying after that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a lot of behind the scenes pressure being applied.

      Reply
    15. 15.

      mrmoshpotato

      June 24, 2025 at 9:53 pm

      Haven’t seen The Day of the Jackal in a while.

      Watched Heat last night on Netflix.  Still excellent after 30 years.

      Reply
    16. 16.

      Layer8Problem

      June 24, 2025 at 9:54 pm

      @jackmac:  Yeah, Sliwa’s still around.  We’ve got a migrant shelter in the neighborhood and they’ve been no trouble for anyone.  Before it opened Silwa came by for a “bi-partisan rally” to offer his “support” for the community.  Anything for the column-inches in the tabloids.  Like I said they’ve been good neighbors.  I hope Sliwa wasn’t too disappointed.

      Reply
    17. 17.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 9:55 pm

      @Scout211: Thanks for posting the RS article! I don’t have a subscription and could only get a tease. I love tongue in cheek articles that potentially embarrass FFOTUS! :-D

      Reply
    18. 18.

      Galaxy Being

      June 24, 2025 at 9:56 pm

      Lee Marvin wasn’t in a movie like that.

      Reply
    19. 19.

      Aziz, light!

      June 24, 2025 at 9:56 pm

      In 1980 I met Curtis Sliwa in his heyday on the subway in Manhattan, complete with his stupid guardian angels T-shirt and stupider red beret and a few of his matching cosplay homies comically posing for commuters. Doofus then, bigger doofus now.

      Reply
    20. 20.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 9:57 pm

      @Eolirin: Mamdani will win. So now I’ve got a general election with Eric Adams, Cuomo (who has an independent ballot line), Mamdani, and Curtis Silwa. I did not list either Mamdani or Cuomo – I am not convinced Mamdani can run a city government competently. I will not vote for Cuomo, especially as an independent candidate, much less one given his record of personal behavior. Adams and Silwa – no way. I also do not like Juumaane Williams. So…may very well leaving the top of the ballot blank and voting in all the other races. Maybe I will vote for Mamdani simply to stop either Cuomo or Adams getting back in, but I have a bad feeling that Cuomo is going to end up winning the general with something like 40% of the vote – he is going to vacuum up the vast majority of Republicans and independents, as well as a good chunk of Democrats, especially in the areas he is showing strength in tonight.

      Reply
    21. 21.

      Suzanne

      June 24, 2025 at 9:57 pm

      Mamdani looks to be ahead by a significant margin. Maybe now Andrew Cuomo will get the message and slither back under his rock.

      Reply
    22. 22.

      chemiclord

      June 24, 2025 at 9:58 pm

      If NYC fucks things up, it’s going to be due to the simple fact that you can’t legislate around a shitty electorate.  In that sense, how you pick your leaders, or how you restrict them with term limits or mandatory voting or ranked choice or parliamentary measures… if “We The People” want corrupt imbeciles to lead us… we’re going to get corrupt imbeciles leading us.

      Reply
    23. 23.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 9:59 pm

      @Jackie: The GOP candidate is Curtis Silwa, who still wears his red beret around and cosplays like a street fighter frozen in time. He got whipped by Adams in 2021, and he will do even worse this year because I have no doubt the GOP is going to do Cuomo a solid and really push his independent line in the general election.

      Reply
    24. 24.

      PatD

      June 24, 2025 at 10:01 pm

      @Steve LaBonne: BDB was actually reelected with ~70% of the vote.

      Reply
    25. 25.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:02 pm

      @chemiclord: Too much of NYC loves ineffective performative politicians, but in a city that is as stratified by income, it is not surprising that a good chunk of the population thinks an ineffective young 30-something professional politician is going to be able to govern the biggest city in the country.

       

      @chemiclord:

      Reply
    26. 26.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 10:02 pm

      @Jackie: The Republican candidate is pretty much irrelevant. No Republican is going to win NYC mayoral race at this point. NYC is pretty much the only reason the state goes blue in national elections. It’s extremely lopsided.

      Now, Adams is still running as an independent, though I’m not expecting him to pick up many votes and The Working Families Party could run Cuomo if he doesn’t win the Democratic primary. Usually the WFP and Democratic lines are the same people, but they don’t have to be.

      I don’t know if Mamdani will do a good job. I do know that Cuomo, whatever else you say about him, is extremely capable at navigating political machinery, and especially the kind of cutthroat shit that’s city politics. He’d bend the city to his will in a way few other politicians could. But the flip side of that is that he’s an asshole and wouldn’t do what was best for the city with that power.

      I think it’s pretty even odds anyone else flames out pretty hard by the end of their first term for one reason or other. Mayor isn’t King. And running on pretty sizable reforms is likely going to run head first into obstacles that are likely going to be very difficult to overcome. So there’s an inherent danger in Mamdani’s platform for him.

      Real change isn’t easy to accomplish and it leaves damage in its wake even if you pull it off. There’s a ton of very entrenched and vested interests that’ll be looking to maintain the status quo in the city.

      Reply
    27. 27.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:03 pm

      @PatD: Because the city hates Republicans more. His reelection in 2017 was at the peak of first-term Resistance politics. Nobody liked his lazy ass.

      Reply
    28. 28.

      PatD

      June 24, 2025 at 10:03 pm

      @PsiFighter37: Unfortunately there are many who will simply not give someone like Mamdani a chance. And that gives a lane to someone like Cuomo in general as an independent.

      Reply
    29. 29.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:04 pm

      @Eolirin: The WFP absolutely hates Cuomo’s guts. If he doesn’t win the Democratic primary, there’s less than a snowball’s chance in hell he gets their line, but he already has another line to run on, so he doesn’t need them.

      Reply
    30. 30.

      PatD

      June 24, 2025 at 10:05 pm

      @PsiFighter37: Yeah, I’m not saying he was particularly competent but that doesn’t seem to be all that valued either.

      Reply
    31. 31.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:06 pm

      @PatD: It will be interesting to see what the machine politicos do. Knowing NY Democrats, they’ll probably make a complete mess of it somehow.

      Reply
    32. 32.

      mayim

      June 24, 2025 at 10:07 pm

      Growing up in Buffalo, NYC seemed like a different world. Our big city was Toronto ~ we got their tv stations over the air, so I grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada and lots of other Canadian shows. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Canadian content policy for broadcasters. All the rhetoric was about Canadian culture, the actual regulations about who got the jobs.

      As a distraction ~ my most recent set of foster kittens. They spent a fair bit of time in the kennel, because mamacat was feral so I couldn’t trust her to not find some small space I hadn’t blocked off. I took them back to the shelter recently; now I’m just waiting for a new set to be healthy enough to bring home. Unfortunately, we’ve gotten lots of kittens this year from unmanaged colonies and hoarding situations. I’m glad we’ve gotten the kittens out and on their way to health and an appointment for snippy surgery but waiting is hard.

      So many thanks to those who have donated to my GoFundMe. I actually feel a little less desperate and like I’m beating my persistent/major depressive disorder [both are in my medical records] after a very bad weekend.

      Reply
    33. 33.

      Paul W.

      June 24, 2025 at 10:08 pm

      @Baud: YEahhhhhhhhhh! This NYC voter and former DSA member is super psyched, they have run a HELL of a campaign with a HELL of a candidate.

      Reply
    34. 34.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 10:08 pm

      @PsiFighter37: I figure the money he has access to opens a lot of doors, but sure, if he’s got an alternative already no need to bother with trying to cut a deal.

      Reply
    35. 35.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 10:09 pm

      @PsiFighter37: Thanks!

      Reply
    36. 36.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:10 pm

      @Eolirin: He tried to cut off the WFP’s access to their ballot line when they supported Cynthia Nixon. Less than zero love lost there. The WFP would love nothing more than to contribute to burying Cuomo’s political career for good.

      Reply
    37. 37.

      Splitting Image

      June 24, 2025 at 10:10 pm

      @Eolirin:

      That being said, this may not go as well as we’d all like. It’s not like the NYPD and the FDNY can’t and won’t bring massive pressure to the political apparatus of the city, let alone all the other players, no matter who gets elected Mayor. Even smart progressive policy can get chewed up and spit out by the machine that is city politics.

      There are always going to be risks about going with the new guy.

      But there were a lot of risks going with Cuomo too. I heard a lot of pundits talking about how Jews wer going to abandon the Democrats en masse if Mamdani won because of comments he made about the Likud. I honestly think that any Jews in New York who are serious supporters of Netanyahu at this point have already gone over to the Republicans.

      What I didn’t hear a lot pundits talking about is the blowback the Democrats would have gotten from women by rehabilitating an obnoxious sex pest. One of the more depressing things about the last six months is watching the professional old white guys advocate scrubbing women’s rights completely from the Democrats’ platform and the public sphere in general. Yeah sure, reach out to incels. See where that gets you.

      I’m hopeful that the Libs of TikTok woman endorsing Cuomo was the final nail in his political coffin.

      Reply
    38. 38.

      PatD

      June 24, 2025 at 10:12 pm

      One takeaway is that the anti-incumbent energy is real (Cuomo building his initial lead from name recognition) and Dem consultants across the country are shitting bricks tonight.

      Reply
    39. 39.

      RevRick

      June 24, 2025 at 10:13 pm

      @Baud: He’s up by 70,000 votes, a little over 7% over Cuomo.

      Reply
    40. 40.

      CaseyL

      June 24, 2025 at 10:15 pm

      On BlueSky, there was a discussion about how the NYC public sector unions – the firefighters and cops – can destroy any mayor they don’t like, working behind the scenes to stymie reforms. It’s not about ideology in NYC: it’s about fiefdoms.

      ETA: What Eolirin said.

      Reply
    41. 41.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 10:18 pm

      If Mamdani prevails, can Cuomo AND Adams both run as independents, or would that require another primary?

      Reply
    42. 42.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 10:18 pm

      @Splitting Image: So, there’s multiple frames. There’s what’s best for the morale of the party and what’s best in terms of policy agendas, there’s what can even be accomplished in terms of policy, and there’s who’d best be able to navigate getting anything done, and there’s what’s best for the city. The answers to those are not the same candidates.

      Reply
    43. 43.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:18 pm

      @Jackie: They already both have different ballot lines in the general. So expect the both to run.

      Reply
    44. 44.

      PsiFighter37

      June 24, 2025 at 10:20 pm

      @CaseyL: If Mamdani decides to focus on police reform as his top priority should he win, he’s a fucking idiot. The best way to win buy-in would be to keep Jessica Tisch as the commissioner and focus on other policy areas.

      Reply
    45. 45.

      RevRick

      June 24, 2025 at 10:24 pm

      Looking forward to my MOHS surgery on my thumb for squamous cell carcinoma tomorrow morning. I get that done at one facility, then MrsRev will drive me crosstown to another hospital for the repairs by my hand surgeon (who is 79!). I’m drinking a Balvenie double cask, because why not?

      Reply
    46. 46.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 10:25 pm

      @PsiFighter37: Thanks, again :-D

      I guess we’ll have to wait and see what NYC-ers decide.

      Reply
    47. 47.

      Old School

      June 24, 2025 at 10:27 pm

      A Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) aide known as “Big Balls” resigned from his role on Monday following the exit of White House adviser Elon Musk.

      A White House official with knowledge of the matter confirmed that Edward Coristine, who codes under the “Big Balls” alias, departed, in a statement to The Hill.

      Reply
    48. 48.

      frosty

      June 24, 2025 at 10:27 pm

      At some point in the last couple of years, everything seems to have been sped up.

      Here’s the reason why. We don’t perceive time as linear, we perceive it as fractions of the time we’ve lived. So at 20, five years is a 1/4 of your life. When you’re 40, five years is 1/8 of your life. Time as you perceive it has sped up.

      When I was in elementary school, the 9-week marking period took forever for 10-year old me. Now, 70-ish me can’t even sharpen a pencil in 9 weeks.

      Reply
    49. 49.

      Another Scott

      June 24, 2025 at 10:29 pm

      @Trivia Man: Interesting.

      Thanks.

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    50. 50.

      Timill

      June 24, 2025 at 10:29 pm

      @RevRick: Wouldn’t want it to go to waist, after all…

      Reply
    51. 51.

      Steve LaBonne

      June 24, 2025 at 10:30 pm

      @RevRick: I’ve had two of those removed from my face. Damned Irish complexion.

      Reply
    52. 52.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 10:30 pm

      @PsiFighter37: If anyone can actually succeed at police reform it’ll do the city a ton of good. Breaking the power bases of the NYPD and the FDNY would vastly improve the political environment.

      I also don’t think that’s going to be Mamdani. But it would be nice for someone to eventually figure out how to make it happen.

      Reply
    53. 53.

      mrmoshpotato

      June 24, 2025 at 10:30 pm

      @Old School: Hopefully he’s kneed in his balls for the rest of his fat, orange, fascist life.

      Reply
    54. 54.

      Steve LaBonne

      June 24, 2025 at 10:31 pm

      @Old School: I hope he didn’t let the door hit him in the big balls on his way out.

      Reply
    55. 55.

      Scout211

      June 24, 2025 at 10:31 pm

      @Old School: Good riddance to Big Balls.

      Reply
    56. 56.

      gwangung

      June 24, 2025 at 10:35 pm

      @Scout211: Anyone who says they have them…doesn’t.

      Reply
    57. 57.

      Splitting Image

      June 24, 2025 at 10:36 pm

      @Eolirin:

      So, there’s multiple frames. There’s what’s best for the morale of the party and what’s best in terms of policy agendas, there’s what can even be accomplished in terms of policy, and there’s who’d best be able to navigate getting anything done, and there’s what’s best for the city. The answers to those are not the same candidates.

      All true, but as an outsider, I don’t see how Cuomo is the answer to any of those questions. My impression of him is that a lot of voters assume that a certain amount of corrupt dealmaking and using one’s office for personal advancement is bound to happen to get anything done. They see that Cuomo has the corrupt dealmaking and personal aggrandisement down pat, and assume that he’s getting stuff done in spite of evidence to the contrary. Trump’s fans are like this, too.

      There are a lot of ways that Mamdani can screw up. But based on his behaviour as governor, I think that Cuomo’s rule would have focused on settling scores and empowering Republicans in the city government. And that is a guaranteed recipe for failure.

      Reply
    58. 58.

      Jay

      June 24, 2025 at 10:39 pm

      @PsiFighter37:

      Mamdani’s focus on police reform is to not hire 9,000 more KKKops,(Adam’ss plan) and to stop having KKKops work massive overtime responding to calls that should be Social Workers and First Responders

      Of course, his opponents call it “Defund the Police”.

      Reply
    59. 59.

      Lyrebird

      June 24, 2025 at 10:40 pm

      @Splitting Image: I heard a lot of pundits talking about how Jews wer going to abandon the Democrats en masse if Mamdani won because of comments he made about the Likud.

      Well I avoid regular news bc it makes me ill, and yep it is complicated, but if what I heard is correct, Mamdani was there helping Brad Lander* against ICE aka Noem’s thugs, even before Gov Hochul arrived.

      *Lander is very openly Jewish.

      All of this is a long way of saying THANK YOU for speaking out against the whitewashing of creeps like Cuomo!

      Reply
    60. 60.

      Splitting Image

      June 24, 2025 at 10:41 pm

      Apparently Cuomo has conceded.

      Reply
    61. 61.

      MazeDancer

      June 24, 2025 at 10:42 pm

      No Cuomo is such a refief.

      Reply
    62. 62.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 10:46 pm

      Interesting! I did NOT see Cuomo conceding so easily!

      Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo conceded New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary to Zohran Mamdani as the 33-year old member of the state Assembly had a significant lead in the race Tuesday night, the AP reports.

      Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, said Mamdani “won” and that “we are going to take a look and make some decisions.”

      Reply
    63. 63.

      Scout211

      June 24, 2025 at 10:48 pm

      @MazeDancer:

      Except,

      Cuomo has already petitioned to be on the general election ballot in November, running on an independent line, as has incumbent mayor Eric Adams.

      These NYC pols really know how to play all the angles.

      Reply
    64. 64.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 10:52 pm

      @Splitting Image: Cuomo didn’t just do corrupt deal making, he created an entire political machine around himself and it endured for a very long time before it was able to be challenged. The loss of that machine likely cost us the House in 2022.

      If the enemies he had made along the way didn’t use the twin scandals of the covid nursing home report doctoring and the sexual harassment complaints, and the way that stuff hit it was definitely a coordinated effort to take him down, he would not only still be governor, but he’d be a leading candidate for running for President in 2028.

      Keep in mind his empowering of Republicans as governor wasn’t actually about empowering Republicans. It was about creating a split legislature that would never willingly agree on anything, with the balance of power being beholden to him, so that all of the budget negotiations effectively ran through the governor’s office.

      I’m not saying these are positive traits in absence of context, but the one thing you should not underestimate Cuomo on is his capacity to understand, manipulate and subvert the structures of power. He’s not just a corrupt pol and an asshole. He’s actually very good at what is a rare skill.

      That being said, enriching himself, settling scores, and doing just enough to keep people behind him instead of him turning to a rival is absolutely how he’d go about applying that skill. And no, that isn’t great for the city either.

      Reply
    65. 65.

      NotMax

      June 24, 2025 at 10:57 pm

      Where have you gone, Eddie Kochio
      Our city turns its lonely eyes to you
      //

      Reply
    66. 66.

      twbrandt

      June 24, 2025 at 11:01 pm

      Apparently a young, appealing candidate laser focused on issues people care about can win. Who knew?

      Reply
    67. 67.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 11:01 pm

      @Jay: De Blaiso’s entire mayorship seemed to come crashing to a halt following police protests over the fact that he said he had to talk to his black son about being cautious when dealing with cops in the aftermath of Eric Garner’s murder.

      The NYPD are extremely thin skinned. And they are extremely vindictive, and very very powerful. If he tries to take their overtime away (which would subsequently impact their pensions) they may very well just have him killed.

      Reply
    68. 68.

      twbrandt

      June 24, 2025 at 11:03 pm

      @RevRick: Hope all goes well!

      Reply
    69. 69.

      Another Scott

      June 24, 2025 at 11:05 pm

      NY Times Pitchbot
      ‪@nytpitchbot.bsky.social‬

      Andrew Cuomo’s biggest mistake? Not going on Joe Rogan.

      June 24, 2025 at 10:12 PM

      Best wishes,
      Scott.

      Reply
    70. 70.

      NotMax

      June 24, 2025 at 11:05 pm

      @RevRick

      Jealous. And I don’t mean of the surgery.

      Best wishes for that. ;)

      Reply
    71. 71.

      Captain C

      June 24, 2025 at 11:06 pm

      @gwangung: I mean, he could have had the Nikki Minaj COVID variant that apparently caused her cousin or cousin’s friend’s nards to swell up like balloons.

      Reply
    72. 72.

      Captain C

      June 24, 2025 at 11:07 pm

      @Splitting Image:

      Cuomo’s rule would have focused on settling scores and empowering Republicans in the city government. And that is a guaranteed recipe for failure.

      Many NYC residents remember how Cuomo went out of his way to screw us at almost every opportunity when he was governor.

      Reply
    73. 73.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 11:08 pm

      Josh Hawley finally shows who we already knew he was:

      For months, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has been one of the loudest voices in his party against any cuts to Medicaid benefits in the reconciliation bill. Now, in what are expected to be the Senate’s critical last days of negotiations, Hawley finally seems open to some Medicaid cuts — even the vast majority of cuts in the reconciliation bill.

      Just not the Medicaid provider tax reduction.

      “They’ve got to fix this hospital piece of it,” Hawley told NOTUS. “And if they do that, then I think that’d be fine.”

      It’s a dramatic shift from just last month, when Hawley called on his party to “ignore calls to cut Medicaid and start delivering on America’s promise for America’s working people” in a New York Times op-ed titled, “Don’t Cut Medicaid.”

      The Senate bill, as it now stands, would gradually slash the Medicaid provider tax rate, a crucial source of state Medicaid funding. Hawley had warned that the cuts would devastate rural hospitals. But the latest version would freeze the tax instead, and Hawley “seems like he could live” with that fix.

      https://www.notus.org/congress/josh-hawley-dont-cut-medicaid-most-cuts-fine

      Reply
    74. 74.

      Jackie

      June 24, 2025 at 11:09 pm

      @Another Scott: 😂

      Reply
    75. 75.

      Marc

      June 24, 2025 at 11:11 pm

      @Trivia Man:  Merlin rebooted my childhood birdwatching hobby, I’d never really paid much attention to just how complex some of these bird “songs” really are.  It’s also an example of how “AI” is going to effect our lives, not only does Merlin match bird pictures against it’s database of images (which I never use, as I can never get good pictures of small birds), it matches pictures of the sounds they make (“sonograms”) against a database of bird sounds.  Freakin’ amazing, from my personal POV.

      Reply
    76. 76.

      Old Dan and Little Ann

      June 24, 2025 at 11:21 pm

      @frosty: I taught that to 4th graders about 20 years ago. I never really thought about until then. I don’t think they cared as much as I do. LOL…

      Reply
    77. 77.

      Jay

      June 24, 2025 at 11:23 pm

      @Eolirin:

      The NYPD itself is complaining about overtime. Some Officers are getting less than 4 hours sleep a day and working 6 days a week.

      They also hate and resent that half the calls they respond to, are calls that a Social Worker is better suited to handle.

      When they want OT, they can still do their “Last Hour Busts”, (98% don’t result in a conviction). They sweep somebody up for “not a crime” and get to book 4-6 hours OT doing the booking process.

      Reply
    78. 78.

      WTFGhost

      June 24, 2025 at 11:28 pm

      When I’m fatigued, I have the same issue – the day seems to vanish. On my rare good days, I’m amazed at what I can accomplish, which might be very little, but, it felt like I had time.

      I mean, my day is, like, I need to carefully remind myself to brush my teeth, or I’ll never get around to it until bedtime. Just taking two minutes to do that won’t occur to me, because there’s never a spare two minutes to “waste.”

      I also think that pain, and fatigue, might be more closely related than we think. There’s the obvious, being in pain, and having to hide it, sucks ass, and it tires you out. But what is the difference between “I don’t want to load the dishwasher, I’m just so tired,” and “I don’t want to load the dishwasher, it seems like it will be so painful!”?

      Anyway: if you wanted to ask my advice, I’d say think over any pain and fatigue issues you might report to your doctor, if you thought your doctor could fix each and every single one of them. Don’t ignore symptoms that you’ve learned to ignore because you can’t fix them, see? If you feel yourself shaking your head to wake up, pretend the doctor has an alertness aid to fix it, even if you wouldn’t use prescription stimulants. And so forth.

      It also happens when I’m depressed – there’s no celebrating being alive, because, hey, depressed, so the day flies away because nothing nice happened, and I tried to ignore all the yucky stuff, which was almost everything.

      Reply
    79. 79.

      strange visitor (from another planet)

      June 24, 2025 at 11:31 pm

      @Eolirin: they doxxed his kids and threatened to kill him.

      i keep telling you guys- guess i’ll have to say it again. ny is NOT a liberal state. nyc is NOT a liberal city. it’s a democratic city, but the old money and new money that run the city are conservative and cautious.

      -but why listen to a guy who LIVES here?

      (also holy fuck, cuomo is an asshole.)

      Reply
    80. 80.

      Soprano2

      June 24, 2025 at 11:32 pm

      @Jackie: Hawley never meant any of that stuff he said about not cutting Medicaid. Missourians knew that but the national press got suckered once again by a Republican lying.

      Reply
    81. 81.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 11:35 pm

      @Jay: Anything they want themselves, he’ll get buy-in for. Anything they feel is encroaching on their turf, or in the slightest way disrespects them, even if it’s something that benefits them, they’ll take as a threat that needs to be eliminated.

      Reply
    82. 82.

      strange visitor (from another planet)

      June 24, 2025 at 11:36 pm

      @CaseyL: nypd and old money run new york. the rest is window dressing.

      Reply
    83. 83.

      NaijaGal

      June 24, 2025 at 11:36 pm

      I can’t believe Mamdani won!

      I really like his mom (filmmaker Mira Nair) but don’t know much about him.

      Reply
    84. 84.

      Marc

      June 24, 2025 at 11:37 pm

      I’m going to be spending some time in NYC (Queens to be precise), as I’ve taken on fixing up a coop that has sat vacant for a number of years, in an effort to make sure an aging cousin has some income.  If Mamdani wins in the end, it might make us optimistic enough for my wife and I to consider making the move.​

      Reply
    85. 85.

      Eolirin

      June 24, 2025 at 11:41 pm

      @strange visitor (from another planet): I do think we’re rapidly approaching the point where liberal and small c conservative are very close to the same thing.

      Reply
    86. 86.

      Chacal Charles Calthrop

      June 24, 2025 at 11:44 pm

      @strange visitor (from another planet): that was true.

      But as this most recent election suggests, that may be changing.

      Reply
    87. 87.

      NotMax

      June 24, 2025 at 11:46 pm

      @strange visitor (from another planet)

      Along with the sanitation workers union.

      @Marc

      Shall be in NYC area sometime in August (dates still TBD). Usually try to arrange for a B-J meet-up. If you’re still around then, hope you’ll consider joining in.

      Reply
    88. 88.

      Interesting Name Goes Here

      June 24, 2025 at 11:48 pm

      Mamdani won, huh?

      Well, good luck to him.  That’s about all the well-wishes I can offer, because I have and will eternally have severe problems with anyone who had even a mild thought about contributing to the Abandon Harris platform, and I don’t think people should be rewarded for that shit in any way except that which fits traitors, and definitely not with a seat in anyone’s government.

      Reply
    89. 89.

      NotMax

      June 24, 2025 at 11:51 pm

      @strange visitor (from another planet)

      Am convinced those making money hand over fist in NYC are the companies which rent or sell scaffolding, It’s everywhere!
      ;)

      Reply
    90. 90.

      gwangung

      June 24, 2025 at 11:56 pm

      @Jay: Which sounds like a deft hand could actually use those internal grumblings to make changes that would please (or at least not antagonize) all parties.

      Whether this youngster can do it, well…

      Reply
    91. 91.

      Kelly

      June 24, 2025 at 11:59 pm

      In other good news I read the Big Bad Bill’s provision to sell off a bunch of federal land was washed away in the Byrd Bath. Republicans have been trying this for a long time, hopefully they’re stymied for another few years.

      Reply
    92. 92.

      RaflW

      June 25, 2025 at 12:02 am

      There’s going to be dozens of pundit thumb-suckers tomorrow about “Don’t nationalize Mamdani’s win, it’s not indicative of a Dem base exhausted by uninspiring and lame machine politics” but that’ll just be confirmation that there’s shock waves ricocheting around the consultant-driven, rich ‘liberals’ set.

      Reply
    93. 93.

      strange visitor (from another planet)

      June 25, 2025 at 12:08 am

      @NotMax:  there’s a law; many people in nyc have an existential fear of something falling on them from an apartment window. the big one most talk about is an AC unit. construction sites spawn similar fears, except they’re far more warranted.

      Reply
    94. 94.

      strange visitor (from another planet)

      June 25, 2025 at 12:10 am

      @Chacal Charles Calthrop: we thought that when deblasio won. the nypd had him cowed relatively quickly.

      Reply
    95. 95.

      PJ

      June 25, 2025 at 12:39 am

      @strange visitor (from another planet): ​
       The law exists because a piece of a building fell off and killed a woman. It’s a good law; the problem is the city doesn’t care about whether owners actually fix their buildings, just that they put up the scaffolding. In some places it remains for decades.

      Reply
    96. 96.

      Tom Q

      June 25, 2025 at 12:42 am

      Just to answer a few people here who are discussing Cuomo’s potential 3rd party run:

      He has indeed qualified to be on the ballot, and, had Mamdani prevailed over him (after RCV) by a relatively small margin, he might well have.

      But that’s not going to happen. Given that most of the other candidates (esp. 3rd place finisher Lander) have practically cross-endorsed Mamdani, Cuomo would have needed to lead in 1st place votes tonight to have a chance. Trailing by 7% with almost all votes in puts him in an impossible situation. He’ll likely be behind at blowout levels when RCV totals are announced next Tuesday.

      And you could see all that in Cuomo’s face when he conceded tonight. That was not the speech of a guy who thinks he’s going to win in a November rematch. That was a guy who wants to spare himself the further tarnishing of his reputation such a run would bring.

      Reply
    97. 97.

      Tom Q

      June 25, 2025 at 12:46 am

      @PJ: Usually, when scaffolding comes down around my neighborhood, it’s been up so long I’ve about forgotten what the obscured building looked like.

      Reply
    98. 98.

      PatD

      June 25, 2025 at 12:52 am

      @RaflW: All that angst over how to win back the youth vote and appeal to them only to whine and complain when someone figures it out. The sooner Dems fire their consultants the better.

      Reply
    99. 99.

      sab

      June 25, 2025 at 3:41 am

      3 am here in Ohio and 75 degrees outside. We only hit 92 degrees ( 99 in my car when I went to the grocery store late afternoon) so I count us lucky.

      Temperature break predicted for tomorrow. 7 degree break. Yay!

      Tomorrow plans: water plants at dawn then feed cats, change their litter boxes, and then stay inside doing paperwork all day.

      ETA Cats are inside cats. Always.

      I have been neglecting cat concerns ( litter boxes) to tend to the outdoor plants frizzling in the heat. Cats have been expressing their resentment/ issues.

      Yowling and also acting (I wouldn’t dignify it as thinking) outside the boxes.

      Reply
    100. 100.

      Baud

      June 25, 2025 at 4:09 am

      @RaflW:

      For me there’s only one lesson: win over voters. That’s what Mamdani did. That’s what every candidate must do, establishment or no.

      Reply
    101. 101.

      sab

      June 25, 2025 at 5:05 am

      @sab: I checked and the loud morning birds I thought were robins are actually cardinals.

      Reply
    102. 102.

      NotMax

      June 25, 2025 at 5:29 am

      @sab

      Having a conclave?
      :)

      Reply
    103. 103.

      Betty Cracker

      June 25, 2025 at 6:21 am

      @Splitting Image:

      What I didn’t hear a lot pundits talking about is the blowback the Democrats would have gotten from women by rehabilitating an obnoxious sex pest.

      This.

      Reply
    104. 104.

      Baud

      June 25, 2025 at 6:27 am

      @Betty Cracker:

      I wonder if our brand get credit for the outcome. There’s where things have fallen short in the past. Lots of complaining, very little upside.

      Reply
    105. 105.

      MagdaInBlack

      June 25, 2025 at 6:27 am

      @sab: I just checked and the hundreds of house sparrows really are hundreds of house sparrows, all chattering and gossiping. No cardinals up yet.

      Reply
    106. 106.

      They Call Me Noni

      June 25, 2025 at 7:31 am

      To my ear Celeste sounds a lot like Amy Winehouse.

      Reply
    107. 107.

      zhena gogolia

      June 25, 2025 at 7:42 am

      @Galaxy Being: Right!

      Reply
    108. 108.

      comrade scotts agenda of rage

      June 25, 2025 at 7:43 am

      @lowtechcyclist:

      Yes.  He has a line on the ballot under some 3rd party (if memory serves) and has said he’ll run no matter what.

      Now, if he doesn’t have the money to run the kind of corporate-funded campaign he’s used to, maybe somebody will tell him to stop reinforcing failure.

      Reply
    109. 109.

      NotMax

      June 25, 2025 at 7:59 am

      @comrade scotts agenda of rage

      New York minor parties be weird.

      Not uncommon to see the same name on the ballot for the same office listed under two different parties in the general.

      Reply
    110. 110.

      Betty

      June 25, 2025 at 8:00 am

      @PatD: I am hoping Mamdani makes it clear Lander will be his Deputy Mayor, a guy with the city government know-how to make things work. We know the NYPD will not be supportive so that will be a challenge.

      Reply

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